North-East Fire
by Rheassa
Summary: With a merging of two fire departments a lot of things could happen. Marco, for example, found himself followed by a younger fire-fighter. Not that he minded that at all, but the kid could have at least put on a t-shirt. Marco x Ace with some ZoSan in the background. On hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

**Sup! I decided to publish something for you to read while I'm still working on the update for Seven Days. Yeah, you don't need to tell me that I'm lazy, I know that. **

**This story was originally inspired by _Reborn In Fire_ by _Aerle,_ meaning I read it and super loved it, but there was very little about the job as a fire-fighter. What did I do? I browsed the FF in search for a fic that looked into the life as a fire-fighter. Sadly, I didn't find one. Then I decided to take the matter in my own hands and write the fic that I wanted to read. The problem was that I knew nothing about what a fire-fighter did for living. I knew they put out fires, but aside from that... That's where the show called _Chicago Fire_ comes in. Basically, whatever fire-fighter knowledge I have comes from there.**

**My beta is super mega busy, so this is basically raw, despite lying in my laptop for months. **

**Song of the chapter: _The Royal Concept - On Our Way_**

**Disclaimer: nothing belongs to me... *sob***

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The music was loud, so loud, that the whole floor was shaking, creating a feeling of an earthquake. The club 'Sabaody' was one of the better places to go to, if you wanted to shake it off, according to what Sanji told him. When Marco asked, if he'd ever been there, Sanji said that his source was trustworthy. Marco rolled his eyes at that, but still agreed to come.

They met half a year ago, when the restaurant Sanji worked at caught fire and Marco was called there to put it out. They did really good job, keeping the damage to minimal, so, as a 'thank you' Sanji came over a couple times a week to Marco's fire station and cooked lunch for free. The only had to stock the fridge and the best chef in the entire city cooked for them. All in all, they were a very lucky fire station.

Marco was a senior captain and a famous firefighter, one of the best in the country. He was called the Phoenix for being practically indestructible - according to his chief, he should have died a very long time ago because of his recklessness, or, at the very least, became bedridden for the rest of his life. However, Marco was alive and kicking, despite all odds, and now trying to get to the bar through the crammed dance floor, towing Sanji behind him.

Finally they hit the counter, immediately taking the seats, which were abandoned by a couple of teenage girls just a second before they appeared. He could immediately see, why they were sitting there - next to Sanji sat a handsome young man, dressed in simple black t-shirt and light-blue jeans. He was tanned and had really an eye-candy for a body. He had three golden earrings in his left ear and a scar across his left eye. The weirdest thing, though, was his hair - grass-green. All-in-all, Marco could definitely see, why Sanji started drooling right after he spotted the young man.

"What can I get you?" Marco heard, so he turned his head, still smiling at Sanji's expression, to see the bartender.

Really, he should not have laughed at Sanji, because he almost choked, when he saw who was talking to him. The bartender was a young man, probably younger even than the one Sanji was drooling over. He had dark hair, which was put away from his face by several hair pins, dark eyes, freckles all over his cheeks and the brightest smile Marco had ever seen. It didn't help that his, originally a button-up, red short-sleeved shirt was open, so Marco could admire the bartender's torso all he wanted. Another eye-candy... Marco really couldn't understand why the girls left.

"Well?" the bartender asked and Marco snapped out of it.

"Bourbon," Marco answered and shoved Sanji with his elbow, to get attention. "Earth to Sanji, what do you want to drink?"

Sanji blinked and ordered wine. Their order wasn't too complicated, so in a moment he and Sanji got their drinks. At the same time the green haired young man raised his hand to get bartender's attention. The hot bartender flashed another one of his blinding smiles at the young man and walked over to him with a bottle of Jack Daniels. The young man took the bottle and beaconed for bartender to move closer, as he was watching Marco and Sanji intently. When the bartender moved closer, much to Marco's annoyance, the green-haired youth opened his mouth and said, just loud enough for them to hear it, as he pointed at them:

"Look, Ace, a dartboard and a pine-apple."

Marco just raised his eyebrows at that, he knew that his haircut did look like a pine-apple, so he let it slide, but Sanji became red in a second. The bartender just laughed, as he jokingly shoved the green-haired man in the head:

"Don't insult the customers unless you want to pay for every single free drink you had here." Ace turned to them and smiled again. "Please, forgive Zoro here, he never had any manners," he bowed and went to get another order, as the second bartender, a young blue-haired girl, was busy making a cocktail.

They were at the bar for about half an hour, Marco following the hot bartender with his eyes, wondering what was wrong with his self-control, because he didn't usually want to jump people right there and then. Sanji had already gotten into a verbal fight with the green-haired man, who was, if Marco wasn't mistaken, finishing his third bottle of Jack Daniels. Suddenly, Sanji's opponent jumped on his chair and took out his phone. Marco noticed the bartender doing the same and then the bartender left the drink he was making, grabbed his friend and they made their way out of the club.

Marco didn't even have the time to raise his eyebrows, as his own phone went off, so he had to leave angry Sanji alone and run out of the bar. Apparently, there was a big accident, involving a lot of cars on the Grand Line, the circular speedway, which was created to keep the traffic out of the city. The accident was on border between Marco's district, the North Blue, and another district, called the East Blue, so, apparently, they would work together with the firefighters from the East Blue. 'Let's see what they are made of,' Marco thought, as he sped all the way to his station, making it in a record time.

The reason Marco was somewhat sceptical towards the East Blue fire department was because in a week they were moving in together, if you could call it that. Apparently, the mayor thought it was for the best of the town, however Marco was more than a little sceptical. Of course, they'd get a bigger, better premises, but it meant nothing, if they could not get along with the guys from the other station.

"Let's show these East Blue boys how it's done," said Bellamy, one of Marco's colleagues; a bulky man with blond hair and several scars on his face.

"It's not a competition," Marco said, as he put on the protective gear. Sometimes he thought that Bellamy was too full of himself, but he was a good firefighter, so Marco often overlooked it.

"Maybe for you it isn't. You already made a name for yourself, you don't need to compete," said Sarkies, Bellamy's best friend.

"Yeah, just wait 'til they see our Phoenix!" Bellamy and the rest of the crew laughed.

"It's more of a penguin, actually," said Doma, a tall man with black curly hair, who was driving. He meant the crest on the truck, because whoever designed it, had no imagination and had no desire to look up what the hell a phoenix was. As a result, they had a bird, which looked A LOT like a penguin on their crest.

"We need to fix that, it's embarrassing," said another firefighter; Marco just chuckled at that - he liked the penguin, it looked really dorky, as if somebody hit it hard on the head.

Finally, they arrived at the scene, Marco jumped out first, quick to assess the scale of the accident. It seemed that a truck drove into the barrier between lines, turned over and caused a lot of other cars, on both sides, to collide with each other. Marco nodded, as he went to the closest car. It was empty, but on the other side someone yelled:

"I need a hand here!"

Marco ran around the car, to see a male paramedic who treated a person, who was stuck under the car.

"Just a second, I'll call for the guys to lift..." Marco started but he was cut off.

"I need you to drag him out," the paramedic said, as he intubated the person. "Wait 'til I hook him up to a bag, then drag him out, as I lift the car."

"Like I said, I'll get guys..."

"Done, be ready to drag him out," the paramedic stood up quickly, got to the car and really lifted it, not just a little, but half a meter off of the ground. "Get him out!" the paramedic growled.

Marco hurried to drag the person from under the car, while the paramedic held still. The paramedic dropped the car, once he saw that the patient was out. He took the board and said to Marco:

"On three. One, two, three," they turned the patient to the side and got him on the board. "USOPP! Come here, we need to get this guy to Chopper STAT!"

Another paramedic ran over to them. The only thing Marco caught of him was ridiculously long nose, and just like that the two paramedics lifted the patient from the ground and hurried to their ambulance. Marco just shook his head, as he saw 'East Blue Fire Dpt' printed on the back of the jacket of the paramedics. If they had paramedics, who lifted cars like it was nothing, he really wanted to see the firefighters.

Next second Marco had to run over to help his guys to get a family out of the car and he put the weird paramedic away for some time. He worked like hell for the next couple of hours, putting out fires, breaking doors, getting people out of the cars and from under the cars. At some point he thought he saw the young man from the club, who drank Jack Daniels like water, but he didn't have time to check if it was really him.

Sometime after Marco helped that weird paramedic, he noticed something - he wasn't working only with his guys anymore. The North Blue and the East Blue departments had mixed up and worked as a team, no one seemed to care, if the guy next to him was from his original team. Marco smiled at that - there won't be much trouble after all, to get the two departments together.

They stayed on the scene until the tow-trucks came around and dragged the wrecked cars away from the speedway. By that time it was already dawn. Marco stretched his back, as he heard someone say:

"Crap, it's already five... I have to be at dojo at seven..."

Marco recognised the voice - it was the paramedic, who lifted the car. He turned around to get a better look at the body-builder (who else would be able to do that?) and was surprised to see the green-haired youth from the bar in the paramedic uniform. Next to him was the same bartender - Marco recognised him by that blinding smile, despite the fireman's casque. Next to them was the paramedic with the long nose.

"I think I'll just go to Franky's, he's already awake, for sure. That way he won't kick my ass for missing work, because I overslept," said the long nose.

"Hahaha!" laughed the firefighter; his smile even more dazzling. "And I'll be sleeping at the station. Take that!"

"I'll let the whole department play connect the dots on your face next time you'll fall asleep outside the sleeping quarters," said the green-haired paramedic, but without any actual animosity.

Marco watched them bicker, as they went to their respective cars. He had enough time to read their last names on their jackets: 'Lieutenant Portgas', 'Roronoa' and 'Sogeking'. What kind of last name was Sogeking? Marco chuckled, as he went to his truck. He felt oddly happy about several things: one - he'll be seeing more of that smiling kid, two - he got his name - Ace Portgas and three - the kid was a firefighter, like him. Somehow he felt that that name rang a bell, but he couldn't place it.

"They were okay, for the East Blue," said Doma, as he drove back to the station. "I don't know, why I ever thought that Firefist was a stuck-up douchebag."

"Probably just the usual rivalry," Marco leaned back and closed his eyes, but opened them again immediately. That's right - Ace D. Portgas was also known as the Firefist. He was a promising firefighter, who got his name when he literally punched through a door to get into a room in a burning building.

"I have to say - their paramedics are better than ours - they were flying between the hospital and the scene," said another firefighter.

"Yeah, ours were much slower. On the other hand - we don't have the Pirate Hunter to lift cars," laughed another one.

"Why'd they call him that?" asked Sarkies.

"'Cause of his looks," said Doma. "Doesn't he look like he's hunting thugs for living?"

"I heard he's in some world championship," said Sarkies.

"That's just rumours," said Bellamy. "Marco, you have to watch your back, or that Firefist will take your spot."

"Maybe when he's ten years older," Marco chuckled, as they drove into their station. He was lucky enough to have a day off today, so he would take a shower and go home to get some sleep before he had to teach a judo class. He felt somewhat bad for those poor paramedics, who had to go to work right after a sleepless night.

His thoughts went back to the smiling firefighter. Damn, that kid was hot. And the firefighter uniform... It should really be illegal to look that hot, he should be arrested for that... Marco breathed out slowly - he did not just put Firefist, handcuffs and himself into one sentence, let alone allowed his imagination to visualise that…

Marco jumped out of the truck first and ran to the showers. He really needed a cold shower, the sooner, the better.

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**So, that's the intro to the story. Please tell me what you thought of it, if it's worth writing.**

**~Rhe**


	2. Chapter 2

**I am updating this because I want to publish something. Seven Days chapter is finished, but it's at beta's, so it might take some time. This story, however, is un-beta'ed, so there will be typos and all sorts of mistakes. **

**Song of the chapter: _Hero_ by _Skillet_**

**Disclaimer: nope, not mine.**

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Ace woke up to a siren going off, telling both trucks and the Going Merry to dispatch to a fire in the Loguetown - the criminal centre of the East Blue. There was fire there at least three times a week, forget all the shootings Usopp and Zoro had to go there for. Going Merry was what Usopp called his ambulance. After some time everyone on the station called it the Going Merry, except for the dispatcher - to her it was still ambulance 51.

Ace looked in the mirror, as he passed it and was happy to not to see his freckles connected to each other. He hated those things - not only did they make him look much younger, but also because his colleagues loved to connect them whenever he fell asleep outside the sleeping quarter. Lucky for him, Zoro often kept an eye on him, so he didn't need to scrub his face clean too often. He was lucky, if they didn't use a permanent marker. Those were a real pain in the ass.

He joined his team by the truck and, after putting the protective pants and shoes on, jumped into the front seat, next to the driver. They followed the Going Merry, as it led the way to the fire. Ace chuckled - if Zoro drove, they'd never arrive anywhere. The man had hard time finding his own home after living there for five years, let alone random accidents. That's why Usopp was always the one behind the wheel.

"Alright, boys! Make sure to do this one carefully, we don't need Shanks to give us an ass-kicking, so no playing Phoenix," said Ace loudly to his team, as he put the jacket on. 'Playing Phoenix' was one of Shanks' favourite sayings, which basically meant doing stupid things like going in when it's already too late and putting their own lives on the line. Shanks was the battalion chief of the East Blue fire department, who was, for the most part, annoyingly cheerful, but could nag the hell out of you, when needed. He was also not somebody you could easily cross or fight, despite the fact that he lost an arm in a fire. They made an exception for Shanks on a condition that he won't be entering the buildings, just giving orders from the safe distance. Shanks agreed and the whole department was thanking God for that, because the man was an awesome chief.

"Isn't he always telling you that, not us, lieutenant?" asked Coby, who was a cadet on probation in their squad. He was forced to wear lenses on the job, but off-duty he wore huge round glasses which made him look like a geek. He was the only one who called Ace lieutenant, others called him Ace, Portgas or Firefist.

"You said something, Coby?" Ace asked in mock threat, but, as always, Coby took everything too seriously.

"No, sir," Coby answered immediately, as the rest of the squad laughed.

"Watch yourself out there, okay?" Ace said, as the truck pulled over.

This time it was the bar, called the 'Gold Roger'. The owner, old man named Raoul, was standing outside, scolding the Riley brothers, who worked at the bar.

"'Sup, old man!" Ace walked over to them.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Ace D. Portgas himself!" said Raoul. "You should come back, there is no order whatsoever on the streets after you left."

The fact that Ace grew up on the streets of Loguetown was old news to his squad, so nobody as much as looked at them, they started to climb up to make a crack in the roof for ventilation.

"Is there anyone inside?" Ace asked - some things needed to be cleared, before they started to put out the fire.

"Aside from these two idiots and me, there was no one inside," answered the old man and Ace made a sign to start putting out the fires.

Ace nodded and put on the oxygen mask - he was going to go inside to make sure that the damage was minimal. With him went three other firefighters. He waited for the good-to-go from the guys on the roof and kicked the door open. He was greeted by a lot of smoke and occasional fire here and there. All in all, it was a relatively easy fire to put out, there was little damage done and the roof seemed to be fine, so the exited the bar, happy with their job.

The ambulance was gone - there was a shooting couple streets away, as Coby explained. Ace chuckled - the shooter was long gone for sure, because if Zoro caught a shooter on the scene, there was a need of a second ambulance. Nothing major, just broken hands. It was hopeless to try and shoot Zoro down - his instincts were really good and if he caught the one, who shot at him... Well, they'd get more than crushed hands. It was not strange at all that Zoro wasn't reported - the thugs in Loguetown respected only those who were strong. After several run-ins with Zoro, the thugs were utmost polite with him and even walked him wherever he needed to go. As for Ace, well, the streets turned empty, once he was seen somewhere in the district, because that usually meant that he was looking for a fight.

They returned to the station and everybody ran for the showers. Ace, however, made a beeline for the coffee machine - he needed an espresso to keep the narcolepsy from kicking in. The coffee machine was in the canteen, which was part-kitchen and was directly connected to both parking lot and garage. It was filled mostly with tables, but there also was a corner with two worn-out couches and a TV. The kitchen was equipped so they could cook their own food, but they mostly ordered take-out.

If there was one thing Ace hated about his job as a fireman, it was coffee, without a doubt. He really hoped that at the new station there would be better coffee, because shitty was the word, if you needed to describe the coffee at their station. Ace wrinkled his nose, as he took the first sip.

"Disgusting," Ace muttered to himself.

He went to the fridge and opened it. He stood there, sipping his espresso, his mind totally blank as he stared at the food in the fridge. Finally he closed the fridge, not even knowing what he opened it for, and put his empty mug in the sink.

"Stop thinking, pretty boy, it will ruin your face," said Shanks, who seemed to appear from nowhere. He was a tall man with flaming red hair and three distinctive scars on his left eye - courtesy of the same fire, which took his left arm.

"I wasn't," Ace smiled.

"Good. Get the punks here, we'll go and check out the new station in a moment," Shanks smiled back.

Ace nodded and went to the showers to announce Shanks' decision. The guys complained loudly, but had to obey, otherwise Shanks would literally drag them out of the showers. It already happened on several occasions, so they made sure to not to make the same mistake ever again. Shanks may have been laid back and sometimes called a 'lazy bum', but he had one rule - if he said he wanted something done, he better not ask for it twice. When he returned to the canteen, Zoro and Usopp were already there, finishing their report to Shanks.

"We took the idiot to see Chopper, but he was in surgery and we had to give him to Dr. Kureha. I'm sure that from now on, he'll be more careful," Usopp laughed.

"Did you see Kaya?" Ace asked, as he joined them. Kaya was Usopp's fiancée, who was a first year resident at the Drum Hospital, where Chopper, the medical genius, he was already an attending despite being younger than Kaya, and his grandma, Dr. Kureha, the chief of surgery, worked.

"She wasn't in the pit today," answered Usopp, shrugging and yawning. "Can you give us cup of coffee? I'm sleeping on my feet."

"Sure. You want one too?" Ace turned to Zoro, who nodded, yawning as well.

"Mihawk was ruthless in the morning, heck if I know what bit him..." Zoro said, dropping on a couch and taking it whole, as he stretched out. "Scared the hell out of the first-years, as he kicked my ass around the dojo. I'm sure that at least a half would drop out by tomorrow."

Zoro was training under the current champion in kendo, who happened to live in this city. Zoro was ranked second best in the world, but he was dead set on beating Mihawk and claiming the title. Ace only smiled, imagining a bunch five-year-olds, scared stiff, as the champion beat up the second best fighter in the world. Their level of swordsmanship was indeed intimidating, Ace would not go against Zoro if he had at least one sword, forget about three, but he could beat him if it came to hand to hand combat.

He walked to them and handed over the mugs with the 'essence of life', as Usopp called it. Both thanked Ace and called him a saviour. They had enough time to finish their coffee and Ace had enough time to tease them about how he got six hours of sleep before the siren woke him up. Soon enough the rest of the firefighters came out of the shower and got scolded by Shanks for taking so long.

"Listen up!" shouted Shanks. "We're going to go and see our new station today. Guys from the North Blue will be there as well, so I want you to introduce yourself, like your names and what you do in your spare time. No being mean to them or I'll feed you your own dicks. No offence, ladies." Shanks nodded to the female firefighters, who just laughed at that. "Now, where was I? Right. You will behave and play nice with them. Is that clear?" he waited for the loud and clear 'Yes, chief!' and continued. "Don't be intimidated just because they are mainly older than you lot, you are damn good firefighters and let's not forget that our paramedics KO'd theirs last night. _And_ our very own Roronoa Zoro ordered the famous Phoenix around last night too," at that there were some cheers and surprised murmurs, as people stared at Zoro, who was still lying on the couch.

"When was that?" he asked, confused.

"He dragged your patient from under the car you lifted," Shanks explained; Ace was smiling - Zoro probably didn't even look twice at the guy. Personally Ace haven't seen the famous Marco Jenkins up close, but he worked with some of his guys and they seemed like decent people.

"Nothing special about him, I guess," Zoro said after some thinking. "Good guy, I think."

"Anyways, get into your trucks and let's..." Shanks started, but he was cut off by the siren. "Well, shit. Get to your trucks," he said, after the dispatcher announced a car crash involving two cars and a cyclist.

Everyone hurried to their vehicles, instantly back in their serious mode. On their way to the scene they got an update - the cyclist was a kid and he was currently trapped between cars. All in all there were five victims - two in each car plus the kid. They arrived on the scene quickly - it wasn't very far from the station.

The paramedics went directly to the child. He was trapped beneath the cars where they collided; his bike sticking up between the cars like some kind of banner. The cars involved were a silver sedan, which hit a black combi in the side, completely blocking the driver and the passenger's seat in the back. There already was an ambulance on the scene, they examined the passenger from the black combi and people from the sedan. Neither seemed hurt too bad, mostly in shock. The ones in trouble were the driver and the kid.

After a quick inspection of the collision, Ace said:

"We can move the combi, it won't hurt the kid. After that, Zoro can lift the sedan and drag him out."

The firefighters immediately gathered behind the combi, lifted it and moved it away, with Zoro and Usopp on standby by the sedan. It worked smoothly - both Zoro and Usopp knew what they were doing. As soon as the kid was free, the firefighters turned their attention to the trapped driver, leaving the paramedics to treat the child, who was miraculously still alive, but in really bad shape. They managed to get him on a gurney and ran to the ambulance, Usopp to the driver's seat, Zoro went inside with the stretcher.

Ace shook his head and focused on the driver. They had to cut the door to get to him, which wasn't easy, but they did it in about two minutes. Ace's brain counted minutes automatically - four minutes to get to the scene, three until they could start cutting the door and two to cut everything off. He felt slow, sluggish even. Something didn't seem right, something was missing and he was frustrated, because he couldn't pinpoint what it was. Ace's instincts yelled at him that something was off as he bent down to free the driver's leg. He almost managed to do that, but suddenly the sedan behind him exploded.

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**And a nice cliffie for you XD He-he-he... **

**Thanks for the reviews, favs and follows.**

**~Rhe**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sup!**  
**So, this chappie might seem unnecessary but it's not. **  
**Beta'ed by lunarshores and thanks to her I found out that my regular beta has spoiled me rotten XD Therefore I'd like to thank lunarshores for giving me vitamins and not just candy. **  
**Song of the chapter: _Follow Me_ by _Pain_ (ft. Anette Olzon)**

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Ace didn't even have time to think - the explosion pushed him further down into the car and, he felt his legs rise as the car overturned. His legs felt hot for a second, and then the car hit the ground. At the impact, Ace felt sharp pain in his right shoulder as it hit the steering wheel. Disoriented and confused, he thrashed around, trying to get out of the car, but his jacket got caught up in something, and the more he struggled, the more it suffocated him.

Someone grabbed his legs and pulled, but it led to even tighter grip on his neck, so Ace kicked whoever was pulling him. He hoped it was a sign clear enough to not to pull him out. Apparently, whoever it was, he was too dumb to get it, so Ace kicked again as that idiot pulled his legs again. His mind cleared out a bit, so Ace pushed back into the car, his left hand searching for whatever caught his jacket; his right arm hurt a lot, but from what he felt, it was just a dislocation. Ace vaguely heard Shanks yell 'Get them out of there, before it blows too!', so his left hand moved faster.

He could still could barely hear because of the explosion, but he wasn't nearly as concerned with that as he was with the lack of air. Ace struggled to get out of it as soon as cold metal of whatever they used to cut the jacket touched his neck. Once he was freed, somebody grabbed him under his arms and dragged him away to a safe distance.

"You okay, Portgas?" asked somebody and Ace's still disoriented gaze focused on Bay Whitey - one of the female firefighters on Ace's squad. She had long light blue hair, now hidden under the casque and her favourite polka dotted bandana that she always wore under the casque, full lips that she was proud of, and dark eyes. "Come on now, don't ignore me and say something!"

"Ouch..." Ace muttered as Bay shook him, her hands clutching his shoulders.

"Where does it hurt? Your head? Your back?" Bay shook him even harder.

"My shoulder, you idiot... let go of me..." Ace pushed Bay away from him with his left hand.

She slumped back, letting go of Ace, and let out a nervous laugh.

"Really? Nothing else?" she asked, slightly doubtful.

"Yeah... Did anyone else get hurt?" Ace fell back on the grass, his head was spinning a little.

"Well, Coby was standing right behind you, but all he got was some first-degree burns on his back and some bruising," Bay answered with a playful smirk. "However, the most epic thing was your ass on fire, as you flew over with the car."

"My what on fire?" Ace sat back up, staring at Bay.

"Your ass. Check your pants, if you want, but a lot of eye-witnesses will tell you the same thing... Fireass..." she fell back, laughing, Ace chuckled a bit as well.

In the meantime, they finally got the driver out, who, apparently was a cat and had some spare lives. Not only was he alive, but conscious as well. The ambulance took him away as Ace sat there and watched. Shanks came over to them and said to Ace and Coby to wait for Usopp and Zoro. They were to go to the hospital and get checked out, just in case. After that, they still had to go to the new station and Ace rolled his eyes at that. Shanks was a hopeless case, if Ace had ever seen one.

He sat on the grass, with Coby close by, and watched his department run around. Some were putting out the fire on the sedan and others were examining the combi.

"It's a pity we didn't bring any meat... It would have been a nice barbecue," Ace said to Coby jokingly.

"What are you talking about, lieutenant?" Coby said, shocked. "You are being disrespectful to the people involved in the accident!"

"Well, they disrespected my ass by torching it, so..." Ace laughed, but stopped abruptly - his shoulder hurt when he moved it. He really needed either one of the paramedics to put it back in its rightful place.

"Please, stop talking like that, lieutenant," Coby pleaded.

Ace just laughed - it was way too easy to tease Coby. Soon after the department put out the fire on the sedan, Zoro and Usopp came over. They walked directly to Ace and Coby, both looking very serious, but as they came closer, their composure cracked, and they howled with laughter.

"I heard you changed your nickname, Ace," chuckled Zoro as he started to examine his friend; Usopp went to take a look at Coby.

"I think my shoulder is dislocated," warned Ace, before chuckling himself. "Yeah, Whitey already re-christened me."

"I'm going to pop it back on three," said Zoro warningly, as he put his hands on Ace's injured shoulder. "You ready, Fireass?"

"Shut it, marimo," Ace smiled. "Yeah, I'm ready."

"One," said Zoro slowly. "Two. Three."

Ace groaned loudly, as Zoro popped his shoulder back where it should have been. He hugged his arm closely, his face in his knees.

"You are fine otherwise?" Zoro asked, standing up.

"Yeah..." Ace got up as well, still hugging his injured arm.

"Let's go, Chopper's waiting," the green haired man went to the ambulance; Usopp was already in the driver's seat with Coby in the back.

"Wasn't he in OR like an hour ago?" Ace climbed inside, joining Coby; Zoro was last, he closed the door and Usopp took off.

"His grandma kicked him out, so he's in the ER, sulking. She said that he spends 24/7 in the OR, so he should let other doctors cut as well," answered Usopp. "Chopper was especially angry because it was his patient, plus it was his first solo heart transplant."

"Didn't he do that one a week or two ago?" mused Ace.

"No, he was the lead surgeon, but he was still observed by Trafalgar," Usopp explained. "This one was Chopper alone without any supervision."

"The worst part is that his grandma forbade Chopper to touch surgical patients," noted Zoro.

"No way!" Ace was shocked.

"So yeah, Chopper needs some cheering up. Like, for example, a tear in abdominal aorta. Does anyone feel anything weird in your stomach?" Usopp said, jokingly. "If not - don't worry, I'm sure Zoro can figure something out."

"Who's first?" Zoro flashed a bloodthirsty smile at his patients.

Ace just laughed, but Coby, as always, took everything seriously. He yelped and jumped away from the crazy paramedic. Ace, Zoro and Usopp laughed loudly at Coby's reaction.

"Come on, Coby, I know you've only been here a week, but do you really think that Zoro can pull off something as sophisticated as a ruptured aorta?" Usopp asked, amused.

"Not my style. I'm more likely to cut you in half than to fake a ruptured aorta," Zoro shrugged casually.

"I think you overdid it," Ace looked at Coby, who was whiter than snow. "Listen up, Coby, I know Zoro looks scary, but he's not dangerous. He wouldn't hurt a fly," at that Zoro raised his eyebrows, sceptical, and Usopp said:

"Unless the fly started it."

"You should be scared of Ace, instead," Zoro said. "He's not all sunshine and daisies."

"Hey, sunshine and daisies works for me. I'm a mellow, happy-go-lucky kind of a guy," Ace argued.

"Yup, you sure are, you demonstrated it when we first met," Zoro smiled widely - something that didn't happen too often.

"Yeah... well... that was a VERY long time ago," Ace chuckled. "Didn't I bash your head through a brick wall?" Coby went even whiter at that, as Ace smiled at the memories.

"Nope, that was me bashing your head through the wall, you made that building collapse on me," Zoro laughed, remembering. "And then we got chased by Luffy's grandpa, 'cause he was on the second floor."

"I thought he'd kill us, for sure. We spent what, like three weeks in the hospital after he was done with us."

"Two and a half. Worst two and a half weeks of my life."

"Oh, right, we were in the same room... Didn't I try to strangle you with your IV?" Ace's smile grew wider.

"Mhm," Zoro nodded. "Well, I sure did pay you back. How old were we? Twelve? Thirteen?"

"Thirteen," Ace shook his head, as they pulled over to the hospital. "Twelve years... That's how long I've had to put up with you."

"Likewise," Zoro opened the back door of the ambulance and jumped out. "Here they are, Chopper."

Chopper was a skinny-looking kid with big brown eyes and messy brown hair. He was even shorter than Coby and looked extremely adorable in his white coat. Nobody could resist his puppy eyes, which he used to get all the surgeries he wanted. That, however, was not intentional - Chopper still was naïve and innocent in many ways. For instance, he believed all the lies Usopp ever told, even the most obvious ones.

"Hi, guys," Chopper greeted them despondently, clearly still upset about being thrown out of the OR. "Usopp, you can take Coby for MRI, Kaya is waiting for you inside," at that Usopp yanked the cadet out of the ambulance and dragged him into the ER. "I'll take you for a CT, Ace. Zoro can tag along."

"'Sup, Chopper. I heard you had a bad day today," Ace said, as he jumped out of the ambulance.

"I had to go, otherwise she'd have suspended me for a week... She thinks I spend too much time in the hospital... Is it true?" Chopper asked, worried, as he lead the way to the CT scan.

"How long since you been at home?" Ace asked.

"I don't know. A week, maybe?" Chopper shrugged. "Is that a lot?"

"Hey, even I go home every couple of days. So yes, it's a lot," Ace patted Chopper on the head.

"How about you, Zoro? When were you at home last time?" Chopper turned to Zoro, who, unsurprisingly, wasn't there. Probably took a wrong turn somewhere.

"The same as me. We went home yesterday, before going to the club," Ace answered instead. "Chopper, buddy, you need to relax. How about you come over to our place? I'm sure we can get the gang together, so you can have some fun."

"I'll ask Grandma," Chopper nodded seriously.

"She'll probably just kick you out of the hospital in the general direction of the party," Ace laughed.

Chopper laughed as he opened the door to CT room. It was empty, since Chopper had booked it in advance. After having far more CTs than any reasonable person should have, Ace knew the procedure by heart. He'd had every single test available in the Drum hospital - CT, MRI, ultrasound, you name it. In Ace's five years as a firefighter he'd taken a lot of risks, which, more often than not, ended with him in the hospital, so he was familiar with most of the procedures. Luckily, he'd never needed surgery. Every single injury Ace had ever had, apart from the time he and Zoro discussed in the ambulance, was minor and didn't require a surgery or a lengthy hospital stay.

Ace undressed quickly and put on the gown Chopper handed to him, laying down on the scanner before Chopper could ask. Chopper went to the control room and was about to begin the scan, when an angry Law burst in, towing an annoyed Zoro behind him. Ace sat up, watching through the window, as he heard Law yelling at Chopper, despite the supposedly soundproof glass.

"Chopper, can't you watch your friend for five minutes?! I was about to start a surgery when I saw _him_," Trafalgar pointed at Zoro angrily, "sleeping in the corner of _my_ OR!"

Ace fell back on the stretcher, howling with laugher. Leave it to Zoro to get where nobody expected him to find. Apparently, Chopper accidently bumped into the intercom button, so Ace could hear the answer.

"I'm sorry, I thought he'd know where CT was..." Chopper said, as Ace was dying from laughter in the scan room.

"I don't care what you were thinking! All I care about is that he..." Trafalgar turned to point at Zoro again, only to find that Zoro wasn't there anymore. "WHERE THE HELL IS THAT CRETIN?!" Trafalgar bellowed and took a few calming breaths. "If I will find him in my OR again, I'll make sure to get you suspended for at least a month."

Ace was hiccoughing and wiping tears away, unable stop laughing, because the situation was hilarious. How did Zoro even get into an OR without any of the staff noticing? Zoro was too big to remain undetected for long. Ace was still laughing, when Trafalgar left for his surgery in a snit. Chopper, bright red in the face, said into the microphone:

"Okay, Ace, I want you to lie still for a moment."

"Just a second," Ace choked out, still shaking with laughter. "Zoro is the best, isn't he? Last GPS we got him broke in a day from overheating, because it literally shouted itself hoarse..."

"Yes, why watch comedies when we have Zoro," Chopper said, huffing. "Come on, now, Ace, get a CT and get him out of the hosp…" the doctor said, but was cut off by his grandma's voice from the speaker in the corner:

"Attention, hospital personnel! We have a case of lost paramedic on the premises. He was found on the OR floor, but got lost again. Please, show that idiot the way to CT room. Bring him there by hand, if you need. Thank you for your cooperation."

Ace really couldn't help himself. He heard somewhere that laughter prolongs life. If so, he just became immortal, thanks to Zoro. The best part was that Zoro wasn't doing it intentionally - he kept claiming that corridors/rooms/streets were moving. The odd thing was that when there was an emergency or when Zoro was in combat, he always managed to be exactly where he was needed.

"Stop laughing, Ace," - said Chopper angrily. "I haven't got all day, so can you please get scanned and get out of here?"

Ace waved his hand, to signal that he was ready. In the meantime, he was doing his best to stop the laughter for five minutes. He could laugh all he wanted when the CT was done. Thus, Ace was lying as still as possible, trying not to think about the hunt for Zoro that was undoubtedly going on in the hospital. The scan was over quickly, and Ace was already dressed when Usopp barged into the control room with Zoro firmly in front of him as a shield.

"Stay here!" Usopp growled, forcibly sitting Zoro down in one of the chairs. "Can you believe this guy? They found him in psych ward, of all places. If it wasn't for me, he'd have stayed there for a very long time."

Ace really didn't have strength to laugh anymore, he just moaned, as he leaned to the wall, his torso shaking uncontrollably.

"Ace, get in here, the result is up." Chopper called. "Usopp, you shouldn't have. A couple of days in psych ward would have done Zoro some good... Now Trafalgar is after my head, because our stray got into his OR." Chopper glared at Zoro, who was sulking.

Ace came into the control room and stared at the picture of himself. According to him, nothing was wrong, but Chopper was staring at the scan intently, so he got a bit worried.

"So?" Ace asked.

"Your shoulder was dislocated." said Chopper.

"I knew that. Tell me something I don't know." Ace said, worried.

"Well, from what I can see, apart from that and three tiny cracks in your ribs, you are free to go, and, please take Zoro with you."

"Yes!" Ace jumped high in joy. "That's what I'm talking about."

"Don't 'yes' me, Ace," Chopper said, seriously. "I don't want to see your face here for at least a month, or I'm going to get you off of work for at least a week."

"No way!"

"Way! So don't do any of the usual stuff you do."

"I'll do my best..."

"You'd better. Now, get out of here." Chopper huffed angrily and, Ace really couldn't blame him - if he had such a bad day, he'd be prowling in Loguetown by evening, for sure, looking for idiots who'd be stupid enough to attack him.

"Think about the evening and give me a call, if you feel like leaving the hospital," Ace nodded, and he and Usopp each took Zoro's arm and firmly led their stray friend to ER, so they could dump him in the ambulance, where they waited for Coby to be done in the ER.

* * *

**I still insist that this chapter only seems unnecessary XD **  
**Thanks a lot for all the reviews, favs and follows.**  
**Cya,**  
**~Rhe**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hiya!**

**So here comes new chapter for this story :)**

**Disclaimer: nope.**

**Beta'ed by awesome lunarshores who tried to teach me what 'misplaced modifier' means.**

**Song of the chapter: _To Have And To Hold_ by _tAKIDA _  
**

**Important A/N at the end.**

* * *

Marco was bored. Very bored. He was supposed to have a day off, but chief called him in, saying that they'll be checking out their new station, together with the East Blue department. That was supposed to happen like an hour ago. They were already at the station, but the East Blue was nowhere to be seen. Rather, someone up top (Marco pointedly looked up in the sky, as he was standing in the back yard of the new station) decided that East Blue shouldn't have an easy day. At first they were called off to a car crash, now it was a fire in an apartment building...

Marco heard voices rise in the garage, so he went back inside. It must have been a joke of some kind, for sure. There was a cadet from East Blue, looking extremely intimidated by annoyed faces from the North Blue. Marco made his way to ask the cadet some questions about his department.

"Oi, cadet, what's your name?" Marco asked, looking down at the terrified kid.

"Coby Jones, sir," the kid answered, straightening.

"What are you doing here, Jones? Aren't you supposed to be with your department?"

"Lieutenant Portgas told me to come here after I was done with my MRI," the kid answered, scared stiff.

"You'll have to elaborate, I'm not following you." Marco frowned. "Did you get hurt or what?"

"Nothing serious, sir," the cadet answered. "And, I guess, Lieutenant was fine as well, if the doctor let him go to the scene. I didn't actually see him, because MRI took much longer than a CT."

"Wait, did Firefist get hurt?" asked Doma, confused.

"All I know is that he had a dislocated shoulder, but he had to get a CT, because the car exploded."

"Was he in that car, or what?" Sarkies snapped. "You're not making any sense!"

"Sarkies! Shut it." Marco said, turning his head slightly in the direction of the troublemaker. "You can continue," he said to the scared cadet.

"A car exploded behind us," said Coby stiffly. "Lieutenant was in the car, which flipped over because of the explosion."

"And where were you? In the car?" Marco frowned, he wasn't sure if he should be impressed or if he should hit Firefist really hard on the head. He hasn't decided what for, though.

"No, I was standing right behind Lieutenant." Coby answered. "I was just thrown over that car."

"You sure you're okay?" Doma asked, worried.

"The scan didn't show anything, so it's just some bruises." the cadet blinked at Doma, surprised by the concern the older firefighter was showing. "Don't worry, I'm totally fine."

Marco chuckled. Just some bruises. He knew a couple of firefighters, who would have used it as an excuse to get a few days off of work,; however, this kid just shrugged it off. It was either the kid, who was so dedicated, or it was the mentality of the East Blue department shining through. For some reason, Marco chose to believe it was the latter.

"Fine? Who told you that? You should take some rest," said one of the older firefighters.

"I'm fine as long as I long as I am able to pull my weight," the kid said with great conviction., "That's what Lieutenant told me on my first day."

"And when you can't?" Bellamy asked with a sneer.

"The others will pull it for me until I recover and can pull it again."

Marco just shook his head slightly, smiling. This philosophy reminded him of his family and the support they granted to each and every member, no matter what. North Blue department wasn't like that, unfortunately. They were sharks - either you swim or you sink and become a prey. Marco was fine with such mentality, but it wasn't very welcoming to the new recruits. It wasn't surprising that there weren't any new faces in the last couple of years. He was brought back by the sound of Bellamy's laughter.

"What a load of crap!" Bellamy said. "You really believe that?"

"Yes," the cadet answered at the same time as Marco growled:

"Zip it, Bellamy."

As Bellamy raised his hands in defeat and backed away, Marco smirked - he still was the biggest fish in a pond full of tadpoles. Cocky, overconfident and somewhat strong, but still tadpoles.

"Come, cadet, I'll give you a tour," Marco said, as he 'claimed' the easy prey. Poor kid was going to be eaten alive, if he was left alone with the hungry sharks. He couldn't let that happen, because if the East Blue department was like a family, like his family, they'd get an all-out war between the two.

The new station consisted of two wings, which were mirrors of each other. On the first floor there was a drive-through garage, connected to the administration on both sides. Further in the back there was a laundry room. Mechanical supplies and a closet were in the back of the garage. The administration was shielded from the garage by two walls, creating a corridor in between, which led to the stairs to the second floor.

On the second floor, above the garage, there was a common canteen with a kitchen, connected, on each side, to a lounge with a TV and sofas. Next to the lounge were the sleeping quarters, and behind them were the showers. The sleeping quarters and the showers were divided by a corridor, much like the garage and the administration. There was another staircase, which led to the laundry room. Next to the showers was a locker room, where they'd get changed from their regular clothes to their uniform.

They went down the stairs to the laundry room and out to the back yard through the back door. Outside there was large space for the trucks to drive into garage, but also an outside gym and a basketball court. All in all, Marco liked the premises, mostly because of the outside gym - they hadn't had one in their old department. The cadet, however, liked the basketball court and the lounge more, and Marco couldn't blame him - everything was clean, new, and looked really welcoming.

They went back to the garage just in time to see the East Blue department trucks drive in. They parked in the back, and Coby immediately left Marco's side to join his co-workers. Those co-workers jumped out of the trucks and out of the ambulance, not paying any attention whatsoever to the building or curious faces of the North Blue department. Marco walked closer, wondering what was going on, when he heard someone of the East Blue shout:

"Who's got the ball?!"

Right in front of Marco they divided themselves into two teams and took the basketball court. They fished a ball out of nowhere and the battalion chief, was appointed the judge, which surprised Marco. Marco rubbed his eyes, in case there was something wrong with them, but no - the East Blue firefighters (and one paramedic, the other one was a second judge), dirty, tattered and smelling like smoke, threw their jackets on the ground and were playing basketball as if they only come for that.

The teams were even and the way they played against each other, Marco figured that they played basketball pretty often. However, the fight was mainly between the smiling lieutenant, who seemed totally fine, and the green haired paramedic, who, despite being half blind, gave the lieutenant a run for his money. Another thing that Marco noticed, was that the cadet, who came to the station first, was playing on one of the teams. One would expect that cadets weren't allowed to play with their sempais, but they seemed to be a part of the team.

Slowly, the North Blue department gathered around, staring at the game, gaping. This was definitely not something they would have expected. And, most certainly, they didn't expect that the battalion chief, Shanks Red, would be egging his guys on. Marco found it very amusing, the way the red haired chief yelled something like 'Whitey, where the hell are you looking?' or 'What's wrong, Morgan, my grandma can run faster than that and she's ancient!' Marco laughed as the woman, Whitey, told her chief to stick it. The fun continued until Marco's battalion chief, Vergo Smith, came over. Vergo Smith was a stern-looking man with short hair, weird sideburns and a short beard. He was never seen without his sunglasses, even during night-time.

"Shanks! What is this?!" Vergo asked, angry.

"Smithy! Hiya there!" Shanks waved his hand carelessly, smiling so wide that Marco was sure he saw the guy's molars. "Guys just got excited, when they saw the court. I mean, what they didn't do, to make something even remotely looking like one... Why don't we play against each other?"

There was some excited murmur among the North Blue firefighters, but Marco knew their chief all too well. Meanwhile, the East Blue guys stopped playing and looked at their audience. The blond couldn't help but notice that the Firefist, who was in possession of the ball and held it in the crook of his right arm, close to the torso, was looking right at him, looking mildly surprised. Then he flashed one of his blinding smiles, completely disarming Marco, who caught himself staring at the younger man's well-toned body.

He noticed movement behind the smiling firefighter and saw the green-haired paramedic come over and lean on Firefist, saying something to him in low voice, his only eye looking at Marco. Firefist nodded with a smile, and turned his attention back at Marco, as he raised his left arm in greeting manner. Marco nodded back, but couldn't help himself but hate the casual way the paramedic was leaning on the firefighter. To everybody it looked like a friendly gesture - his left elbow on Firefist's shoulder, legs crossed, but Marco still hated how close they were.

"You know we don't have time for that," Vergo said sternly.

"Aw, come on! Don't be such a party-pooper," the red haired chief laughed; his department chuckled behind him. Marco himself couldn't help but smile at Shanks' behaviour. However, after one look on Vergo's face, Shanks rolled his eyes. "Fine. Alrighty, boys and girls, we can play later, when the party-pooper isn't around. For now, be nice kids and introduce yourselves, like we agreed."

Marco really started to like Shanks, at least more than his own battalion chief. The way Shanks talked to his subordinates reminded him of his Pops. While Marco thought, Firefist stepped forward, finally ridding himself of the paramedic.

"'Sup, everybody! My name's Ace D. Portgas, I work part-time at 'Sabaody', so feel free to come by. I do some martial arts in my spare time," he stopped, as if thinking if he should mention it, but then deciding on what- the- heck. "Nickname's Firefist." Immediately, someone from his department shouted 'Fireass!' and they roared with laughter; Ace laughing as well. "And, as you see, a lot of people will be calling me Fireass for the next month at the very least, so, really, whichever you like more." Ace took the ball in both hands and threw it to a weird guy with make up on, who was doing some ballerina twirls slightly away from the group. He caught the ball, glaring at Ace, but stepped forward.

"My name is Bentham Clay, you can call me Bon Clay. _Un, deux, trois_," the man started twirling again. "I teach ballet at the Kambakka Dancing Academy. _Un, deux, trois_," he threw the ball away, not looking where it went, as he went on with his twirling. The one, who caught the ball was the woman, who told Shanks to stick it during the game.

"Bay Whitey. Part-timing as pâtissière at Amazon Lily restaurant, specialising in frozen desserts. Some call me the Ice Witch," she threw the ball at the paramedic with long nose.

"Um, hi," the paramedic said, somewhat insecure. "I'm Usopp Sogeking, and I'm assistant manager at Franky House," he threw the ball away as fast as he could, clearly uncomfortable at the attention he was getting from the grim-looking firefighters from North Blue. The ball went to the second paramedic, who stared at the ball, as if it was his arch-enemy.

"Zoro Roronoa," he didn't say anything else, as he threw the ball behind him. That earned him a hit on the head from his battalion chief, who wasn't satisfied with his introduction, but didn't force him to say anything else.

The ball went around the East Blue department, as each of them introduced him- or herself and said a line about what they did with their time, when they weren't wearing uniform. Shanks got to say a few lines too, and then Coby, who got to be the last one, threw the ball to Marco. Both departments stared at him with curiosity, as Marco stared at the ball in his hands. He was slightly at loss; he had no idea what to say. What could he say, anyway? He didn't do anything interesting with his spare time, and he sure as hell wasn't going to bring his Pops up as a conversation starter.

"Um..." Marco could see, why the Sogeking guy didn't like this and why Roronoa skipped the whole thing. "My name is Marco Jenkins and, I guess, I teach martial arts at Moby Dick orphanage in my spare time?" he said, somewhat unsure if it was good enough. He passed the ball to the closest guy to his right, happy to be done with it. Suddenly, there were claps coming from East Blue guys. He looked up to see both Firefist and Pirate Hunter clapping; Firefist smiling at him encouragingly. Why the hell Roronoa would clap for him, he had no idea, but other members of East Blue department started clapping as well; their battalion chief looking like a super-proud soccer-mom.

They clapped after each guy from North Blue introduced himself - there weren't any female firefighters among them. When the last guy threw the ball back to Ace, Shanks shouted:

"Okay, kids, let's go check our new place out. Coby, lead the way!"

Coby moved forward to Shanks and waved his hand, showing the way. The way the East Blue firefighters went after their battalion chief, strongly reminded Marco of kindergarteners trailing after their teacher. It would have been more visible, if everyone held hands, but it was still obvious. Some of the North Blue firefighters snickered, as they watched the group go in the garage, chatting among themselves. Once the East Blue department disappeared from sight, everybody turned to Vergo, who was silent the whole time.

"You've got to be kidding, are we supposed to work together with that kindergarten on a field trip?" Bellamy said loudly, there was some agreeing murmur and nods among the firefighters.

"Apparently," Vergo nodded curtly.

"They seemed nice, though," Doma disagreed.

"The one who seemed half-good was Roronoa," said Sarkies and, again, there was some agreeing murmur.

"Is that because he was the only one who refused to introduce himself?" Doma asked.

"He was the only one who knew how stupid it was," Bellamy said.

"Didn't you introduce yourself as well, eh, Bellamy?" Marco looked at Bellamy from the corner of his eye.

"Don't tell me that you actually like them?" Bellamy sneered.

"So what?" Marco turned to face Bellamy head on.

Suddenly there was a loud crash coming from the canteen above the garage. Right after that came loud laughter, and they vaguely heard somebody shout 'Put it back before someone sees it!'

"What are they, five-year-olds?" Sarkies pointed at the canteen with an exasperated look on his face. Marco just laughed at that.

They didn't get into a full-blown argument only because, in a minute, the East Blue department toppled out of the laundry room, laughing. They did seem like a bunch over-excited kids, who got to go on a fun field trip. Of course, there were exceptions who weren't shouting and laughing loudly, but even they looked like they were having a great time. Oddly enough, their chief was one of the loudest ones, and, even through the ruckus, they could still hear '_Un, deux, trois!' _

"This is crazy!" Bellamy complained.

Marco didn't mention that to him, as someone who'd grown up with fourteen siblings, that kind of behaviour was totally normal and acceptable, but perhaps to the others, who had smaller families, it seemed childish and unnecessary.

The loud group came closer, and Shanks shouted over the noise:

"Come on, party-pooper, why don't our boys play together?"

"Um, Shanks?" Ace came to his chief and tapped him on the shoulder. Shanks turned to Ace with an expression of doom on his face.

"Is it Luffy again?" Shanks asked, whatever hope was left in him shattered, as Firefist nodded. "What did he do this time? Does Zoro need to go too?"

"He bit the lunch-lady. Again. And no, Zoro can stay, unless he wants to come with me and try to convince the principal to not to throw Luffy out of the school," Firefist rolled his eyes. "So, you coming?" Ace turned to Zoro.

"Nah, Rayleigh loves Luffy," the paramedic answered, yawning. "And, despite what she says, Dadan likes the kid too. I don't get it, why the hell are we summoned there every single time Luffy does something?"

"Because of Akainu," Ace growled, hate deepening his voice; Marco was surprised by the stark contrast between the usual smiling firefighter and the dangerous animal he was now seeing.

"Oh, right. Maybe I should come with you, after all," Roronoa bared his teeth in a feral grin; a very different side from the bored-looking guy, who was annoyed that his presence was required at this stupid unceremonious ceremony, Marco noticed.

"I'll give you a ride," Usopp sighed, as he went to the ambulance.

"Say 'Hi' to Luffy!" Shanks said, as he waved good bye.

* * *

**So, this important A/N. I'm putting the story on hold. Don't throw rocks at me, I'm putting it on hold until I figure out something that I found missing, namely plot. Otherwise it'd just be another story of how Marco and Ace got together and while that's important, I feel like there should be more to it than that. I'm not abandoning it completely, just putting it on hold.**

**With that out of the way, I'd like to thank everyone for reviews, favs and follows.**

**Hope to see you soon,**

**~Rhe**


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